North Rhine-Westphalia: Doctor sentenced after the death of a baby

When a girl is born, there are dramatic complications.

North Rhine-Westphalia: Doctor sentenced after the death of a baby

When a girl is born, there are dramatic complications. The child dies. Now the doctor has been convicted.

Bochum (dpa / lnw) - After the death of a newborn, a doctor at a Herner hospital was convicted of negligent homicide by omission. The Bochum district court imposed a fine of 15,000 euros (150 daily rates) on Thursday.

According to the verdict, the 34-year-old doctor did not perform a caesarean section when she gave birth on August 4, 2018, despite dramatic complications. She assessed the situation as "grossly incorrect". Around four hours before birth, there were signs of a possible lack of oxygen in the unborn child. Nevertheless, nothing was done. "If a caesarean section had been carried out at this time, there would have been a very high probability that a healthy child would have been born," said judge Thorsten Fülber in the verdict.

The baby had been fetched with a plunger instead. At the time of birth there was no heartbeat or breathing. The newborn was immediately resuscitated and taken to the children's hospital in Witten. But there was nothing more the doctors could do. The child died a day and a half after birth.